Only One Night (Only One 3)

“Never a third without a second,” he says, and I kiss him. “I have to get to Jaxon. I know he’s being taken care of, but I have to talk to him.”

“Of course,” I say, getting up from in front of him. I walk with him to the front door, sad he’s leaving me again and sadder that I can’t be there with him as he goes through this.

“I’ll call you later,” he says, and I just nod.

“Okay,” I say. “Let me know if I can do anything.”

“I hate this,” he says right before he walks out the door. “I hate leaving. I hate that you can’t come with me. I hate that.”

“Hey,” I say, putting my arms around his waist. “There will be time for all of that.”

“That is what I’m counting on,” he says, kissing me softly. “Lock the door, and for the love of god—”

I start to groan, and I push him out. “Go,” I tell him. “Take care of Jaxon.”

He starts walking away. “Evelyn.” He calls my name and turns to walk backward. “I know I’m married and all, but will you be my girlfriend?” I shake my head, laughing. “I mean, after my divorce and all that.”

“I think we went backward on that train, Manning,” I tell him, and he laughs.

“Best night ever,” he says, and I just take a deep breath and watch him leave, knowing that he is taking a piece of my heart with him.

I close the door and walk back inside. My phone rings, and I see it’s him. “I want to tell my mother about us.”

“What?” I say, shocked. “Don’t you think you should wait?”

“No,” he says. “Actually, I want to tell Jaxon and my mother so they know I’m going to be okay.” He stops talking. “Is that okay with you?”

“Then I guess I should tell my parents, too,” I say, sitting down and feeling like I just woke up on Christmas morning and all the gifts I asked for are under the tree waiting for me. “I mean, my father was there when the showdown happened, and although he didn’t ask me anything, I’m sure he has a lot of questions.”

“Okay, so I’ll tell my mother and Jaxon, and you tell your parents,” he says. “I’ll call you after I talk to them.”

“Oh my god, you’re doing this tonight?” I shriek. “Don’t you think that’s going to be a big thing? I’m leaving Murielle, and I have a girlfriend.”

“I figured like a Band-Aid, I’d just rip it off,” he says. “I also have to call your brother.”

“Wait, what?” I sit up now.

“I have to tell him what is going on. He needs to know in case.”

“In case?” I say, my hands getting clammy.

“Baby,” he says my name softly. “I don’t know what Murielle is going to do. She can go quietly, or she can go like a bat out of hell.”

“I think she’s going to go with plan B,” I tell him.

“Me, too, which means that I don’t want you to get caught by yourself,” he says, “so we have to make a plan.”

“Shouldn’t I be a part of this meeting?” I ask, and he laughs.

“I’ll fill you in. I just got to the house,” he tells me. “I’ll call you later.”

“Good luck,” I say, taking a deep breath.

“With you on my side, who needs luck?” he says, disconnecting.

Chapter 31

Manning

I walk up the pathway toward a house I have never seen before. The front door is unlocked, and as soon as I step inside, I smell cooking right away—my mother’s cooking.

I also hear laughing, something I’ve never heard before when I walked into my house. It was always dead ass quiet. “Hello?” I shout as I pass the staircase and walk into a huge family room adjoined to a kitchen.

My mother stands at the island with Jaxon as he helps her cook. Her eyes come up, and when she sees me, she immediately gets teary-eyed. She grabs a hand towel to wipe her hands and then comes to me. “Dad, Nana came.”

“I see that,” I tell him.

“My boy,” she says, and I have to bend to hug her. “You and me, we are going to have a talk,” she says as she holds my face. “A nice long overdue talk.” I laugh now, and then I look over to see Becca walking into the room. “I think your attention needs to be someplace else right now.” She motions with her head and then walks back to the counter to stand beside Jaxon. “Now leave my grandson and me by ourselves while we cook dinner.”

“Dad, I’m cooking,” he says, smiling and then turns to my mother. “Can I pour it in now?” he asks her, and she nods her head.

I walk over to Becca, who just looks at me. “Well, you seem to be intact,” she says, looking me up and down. “No bullet holes. I guess that’s a good sign.” I shake my head, laughing, and then I hear a knock on the door. “That should be Nico and Candace,” she says, walking to the door and opening it.